Parts of a microscope

Parts of a microscope

A microscope is an instrument that can be used to observe small objects, even cells. The image of an object is magnified through at least one lens in the microscope. This lens bends light toward the eye and makes an object appear larger than it actually is.

The eyepiece, or ocular lens, is the part of the microscope that magnifies the image produced by the microscope's objective so that it can be seen by the human eye. Eyepieces work in combination with microscope objectives to further magnify the intermediate image so that specimen details can be seen.

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​Eyepiece

​A scanning objective lens provides the lowest magnification power of all objective lenses. 4x is a common magnification for scanning objectives and, when combined with the magnification of a 10x eyepiece lens, a magnification of 40x is given.

​​The scanning lens

​The low power objective lens has more magnification than the 4x lens, is one of the most helpful lenses when it comes to observing and analyzing glass slide samples. The 100x magnification gives you a closer view of the slide.

The low power lens

​The high-powered objective lens, high dry lens, is ideal for observing fine details within a specimen sample. The total magnification is equal to 400x magnification, giving you a very detailed picture of the specimen in the slide.

The high power lens

Base or Foot holds up all the microscope on top, this U-shaped part is at the very bottom of the microscope. Since it is meant to stabilize the whole system, the base of a microscope is often made of solid metal and is very heavy.

Base

​This is one of the most iconic parts of a microscope. All other optical and mechanical parts are mounted on this. The arm is basically a strong thick bar of metal, often vaguely C-shaped. The microscope is held and lifted by grabbing the arm strongly.

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Arm

​This is the rectangular solid part on which the specimen slide is placed. It is connected solidly to the lower side of the arm, and can move in both x and y directions. It has a hole in the center called ‘Aperture’, which lets light pass through from below to hit the slide to brighten up the sample.

Stage

The stage has two large clips which you can use to securely hold the slide in place so that it doesn’t accidentally move. The screws on top of the clips can tighten or loosen, changing the strength of the clips.

​Stage Clips

Microscope Parts & Specifications Labeled Diagram | Microscope World Resources

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